The latest updates from National Grid regarding the gas outage;

Tuesday, January 29th
3:00PM

We have restored service to nearly 100% of impacted customers on Aquidneck Island. Only a few dozen remain who have either requested we come back later in the week or who we are still attempting to contact. For those in the area who haven’t yet been restored, please call 1-800-870-1664 to schedule an appointment. We are aware that a number of customers may be seasonal residents that do not stay on Aquidneck Island in the winter. For those customers, we will be here to assist you whenever you return and are ready for restoration.

We cannot thank the people of Newport and Middletown enough for their kindness, patience and resiliency throughout this entire event. This was an unprecedented situation and we know the past week has been extremely challenging for all those involved. We could not have moved through the multiple phases of restoration as efficiently as we did if it were not for you. We also greatly appreciate the support and assistance from local and state officials who worked alongside us night and day in the restoration effort

Monday, January 28th
2:30PM

Over 97% of impacted Newport customers have been restored thanks to the National Grid, mutual aid, and contractor gas technicians working day and night. Nearly all Middletown homes have been relit as well, with the exception of those we have been unable to reach. 

For those in the area who haven’t yet been restored, please call 1-800-870-1664 to schedule restoration. We are aware that a number of customers may be seasonal residents that do not stay on Aquidneck Island in the winter. Whenever they return and are ready for restoration, we will be there to assist them.

To help small businesses that were impacted by the gas service disruption, this afternoon National Grid announced a commitment to fund $500,000 in need-based grants administered in partnership with Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Rhode Island. National Grid continues to urge the business community to work closely with their own insurance, state and local government programs, and the Company’s established claims process to ensure the most comprehensive recovery options. National Grid and LISC will provide program specifics and an application process in the coming days on LISC’s website. You can read more about National Grid’s food, shelter, and temporary heat  relief efforts in response to this incident in our latest press release.

We greatly appreciate the support and assistance from local and state officials who have been worked alongside us night and day in the restoration effort. Most importantly, we thank the people of Newport and Middletown for their patience, understanding, and resiliency.
 

National Grid provided the following update at approximately 11:15 pm on Sunday, January 27th;

Crews have made significant progress since they began re-lighting customers’ appliances in Newport this Saturday at noon. As of tonight, 95% of impacted customers have been restored thanks to National Grid, mutual aid, and contractor gas technicians working day and night. Nearly all Middletown homes have been relit as well, with the exception of those we have been unable to reach.

To help ensure your service is restored as quickly as possible, please make sure somebody is on the premises to give access to a National Grid gas technician. During late evening hours, please leave an exterior light on to signal that National Grid technicians are welcome to knock on your door.  Re-lighting takes an average of 45 minutes per home, as technicians monitor pressure and ensure all gas appliances in the business or residence are operating safely. Please verify your contact information online or call 1-800-870-1664 so we may contact you if necessary. 

As a reminder, every National Grid employee carries a photo ID card, and any contractor doing work for the company is also required to carry ID. If someone requesting entry into your home or place of business does not show an ID card, don’t let that person in and please call National Grid or your local law enforcement.

Sunday, January 27th
5:00PM

As of this morning, 90% of affected Middletown homes have been relit, with the exception of those we have been unable to reach.

Crews made significant progress overnight in Newport, restoring all 150 critical support facilities(hospitals, schools) in the area.  More than 600 National Grid, mutual aid, and contractor gas technicians have been working around the clock on this re-lighting phase in Newport since Saturday at noon. If you are still without gas and have not had anyone stop at your residence or business we would encourage you to get to the closest community van before 7pm and work with the customer liasons at those locations. Those liaisons will have the most up to date information and can coordinate with the techs in your area

To help ensure your service is restored as quickly as possible, please make sure somebody is on the premises this weekend to give access to a National Grid gas technician. Please verify your contact information online or call 1-800-870-1664 so we may contact you if necessary. During late evening hours, please leave an exterior light on to signal that National Grid technicians are welcome to knock on your door.  Re-lighting takes an average of 45 minutes per home, as technicians monitor pressure and ensure all gas appliances in the business or residence are operating safely.

As a reminder, every National Grid employee carries a photo ID card, and any contractor doing work for the company is also required to carry ID. If someone requesting entry into your home or place of business does not show an ID card, don’t let that person in and please call National Grid or your local law enforcement.

We are providing complimentary meals Sunday from 11AM-6PM or until food runs out at the following locations:

  • McCrays Seafood, Newport Marriott, 25 America’s Cup Ave
  • FanCheezical, Newport Police Station on Broadway
  • Binge BBQ, Pell Elementary School, 35 Dexter St
  • Poppy’s Waffles, King’s Park, Wellington Ave just past Thames St
  • Haven Brothers, Commodore Perry Boulevard, adjacent to Middletown Public Library

Sunday, January 27th
10:30AM

As of this morning, 90% of affected Middletown homes have been relit, with the exception of those we have been unable to reach.

Crews made significant progress overnight in Newport, restoring more than 5,100 of the approximately 6,400 customers affected. All 150 critical support facilities(hospitals, schools) in the area have been restored.  More than 600 National Grid, mutual aid, and contractor gas technicians have been working around the clock on this re-lighting phase in Newport since Saturday at noon.

To help ensure your service is restored as quickly as possible, please make sure somebody is on the premises this weekend to give access to a National Grid gas technician. Please verify your contact information online or call 1-800-870-1664 so we may contact you if necessary. During late evening hours, please leave an exterior light on to signal that National Grid technicians are welcome to knock on your door.  Re-lighting takes an average of 45 minutes per home, as technicians monitor pressure and ensure all gas appliances in the business or residence are operating safely.

As a reminder, every National Grid employee carries a photo ID card, and any contractor doing work for the company is also required to carry ID. If someone requesting entry into your home or place of business does not show an ID card, don’t let that person in and please call National Grid or your local law enforcement.

We are providing complimentary meals Sunday from 11AM-6PM or until food runs out at the following locations:

  • McCrays Seafood, Newport Marriott, 25 America’s Cup Ave
  • FanCheezical, Newport Police Station on Broadway
  • Binge BBQ, Pell Elementary School, 35 Dexter St
  • Poppy’s Waffles, King’s Park, Wellington Ave just past Thames St
  • Haven Brothers, Commodore Perry Boulevard, adjacent to Middletown Public Library

Below are the answers to some questions you may have regarding this situation:

When should I expect my gas service to be restored?

Can I take the sticker off my door?

Where can I go to stay warm?

What hotels are available in the local area?

What will be reimbursed?

What is the process to restore gas service?

Should we turn our gas off? Turn our furnace off?

If I am away on vacation or away for the winter, how can I tell if my home is impacted?

Has my meter been shut off?

Will you call me when you’re going to come out and restore my gas?

Are you able to restore service if my home is winterized?

Do I need to be home in order for my gas to be restored?

What should I do if I smell natural gas?

Where do plumbers or electricians go to sign up to work on the restoration?

On-Site Resources 

We have a 24-hour Customer Information Center offering the most up-to-date information on the restoration efforts and resources located at Gurney’s Newport Resort, 1 Goat Island, Newport.

We also have multiple Community Assistance vans stationed in the area, check our schedule to find the nearest location.

Impact Map

Click to view a map  of the areas affected by the outages on Aquidneck Island. Please note there may be customers in that area that are not impacted.

Safety Resources

The below resources offer safety guidelines for natural gas shutoffs and frigid conditions.

Space Heaters

Saturday, January 26th
6:00PM

As of this morning, 90% of affected Middletown homes have been relit, with the exception of those we have been unable to reach.

We also began the final stage of our three-step restoration process—relighting gas appliances—in Newport this afternoon. Bear in mind this final re-lighting phase is the most time consuming and it will take several days to restore all homes. Our first priority is to restore the 100 critical care facilities(nursing homes, schools, etc.) and other critical care customers in town, then we will move door to door to individual customers’ homes to re-light their appliances. To help ensure your service is restored as quickly as possible, please make sure somebody is on the premises this weekend to give access to a National Grid gas technician. Please verify your contact information online or call 1-800-870-1664 so we may contact you if necessary. During late evening hours, please leave an exterior light on to signal that National Grid technicians are welcome to knock on your door.

As a reminder, every National Grid employee carries a photo ID card, and any contractor doing work for the company is also required to carry ID. If someone requesting entry into your home or place of business does not show an ID card, don’t let that person in and please call National Grid or your local law enforcement.

Our Community Assistance vans are in the area with customer service representatives and a 24-hour Information Center is open at Gurney’s Newport Resort. We are also providing complimentary meals Saturday from 11AM-8PM at the following locations:

  • Newport Police Station (FanTex-Mexical Tacos Food Truck)
  • Pell Elementary School, 35 Dexter St. (Binge BBQ)
  • Kings Park, Wellington Ave (Poppy’s Waffles Food Truck)
  • Commodore Perry Boulevard adjacent to Middletown Public Library (Haven Brothers)
  • Lobro Restaurant, 66 Broadway St., Newport
  • Box lunches available at The Gaudet Middle School, 1113 Aquidneck Ave., Middletown.

Locations may change over the weekend.

Saturday, January 26th
12:00PM

As of this morning, 90% of affected Middletown homes have been relit, with the exception of those we have been unable to reach.

We also began the final stage of our three-step restoration process—relighting gas appliances—in Newport this afternoon. Our first priority is to restore the 100 critical care facilities(like nursing homes) and other critical care customers in town, then we will move door to door to individual customers’ homes to re-light their appliances. To help ensure your service is restored as quickly as possible, please make sure somebody is on the premises this weekend to give access to a National Grid gas technician. Please verify your contact information online or call 1-800-870-1664 so we may contact you if necessary. During late evening hours, please leave an exterior light on to signal that National Grid technicians are welcome to knock on your door.

As a reminder, every National Grid employee carries a photo ID card, and any contractor doing work for the company is also required to carry ID. If someone requesting entry into your home or place of business does not show an ID card, don’t let that person in and please call National Grid or your local law enforcement.

Our Community Assistance vans are in the area with customer service representatives and a 24-hour Information Center is open at Gurney’s Newport Resort. We are also providing complimentary meals  Saturday from 11AM-8PM at the following locations:

  • Newport Police Station (FanTex-Mexical Tacos Food Truck)
  • Pell Elementary School, 35 Dexter St. (Binge BBQ)
  • Kings Park, Wellington Ave (Poppy’s Waffles Food Truck)
  • Commodore Perry Boulevard adjacent to Middletown Public Library (Haven Brothers)
  • Lobro Restaurant, 66 Broadway St., Newport
  • Box lunches available at The Gaudet Middle School, 1113 Aquidneck Ave., Middletown.

Locations may change over the weekend.

Friday, January 25th at 6 pm

Friday, January 25th
2:00PM

As of this morning, 304 of 340 affected Middletown homes have been relit. Crews have been working day and night on this final step of the restoration process. 

We have completed the first of three restoration steps in Newport, with all 6,400 affected meters shut off as of Friday afternoon. We expect to complete the second step of re-energizing the system within the next 24 hours. The final step will require National Grid gaining access to every customer’s property to relight appliances. To ensure we have the correct contact information on file ahead of the relights, please verify your phone numbers and email addresses online, or call 1-800-870-1664.

In order to complete restorations as quickly as possible, National Grid personnel will be going door-to-door day and night. Please leave a light on after dark to indicate if you are willing to have your doorbell  rung at any hour by crews looking to gain entry. As a reminder, every National Grid employee carries a photo ID card, and any contractor doing work for the company is also required to carry ID. If someone requesting entry into your home or place of business does not show an ID card, don’t let that person in and please call National Grid or your local law enforcement.

Our Community Assistance vans are in the area with customer service representatives and a 24-hour Information Center is open at Gurney’s Newport Resort. Threefood trucks will be providing complimentary meals  on Friday and Saturday from 11AM-8PM:

  • Newport Police Station (FanTex-Mexical Tacos Food Truck)
  • 35 Dexter Street (Poppy’s Waffles Food Truck)
  • Kings Park, Wellington Ave (Poppy’s Waffles Food Truck)

Locations may change over the weekend.

Thursday, January 24th
5:00PM

The gas system in Middletown was brought back to full pressure Tuesday night and crews have been working day and night on relights—the final step of the restoration process—since. As of this morning, 301 of 340 affected homes have been relit.

We have shut off more than 6,300 of the 6,400 meters in Newport, bringing  the first phase of restoration close to completion in the heavily impacted town.

To ensure we have the correct contact information on file ahead of the relights, we are asking impacted customers to verify their phone numbers and email addresses. To view or update contact information, customers can log into their account online, or call 1-800-870-1664.

In order to provide information related to the gas incident and to complete the relight process, National Grid personnel will be going to door-to-door throughout the night. Please leave a light on after dark to indicate if you are willing to have your doorbell  rung at any hour by crews looking to gain entry. As a reminder, every National Grid employee carries a photo ID card, and any contractor doing work for the company is also required to carry ID. If someone requesting entry into your home or place of business does not show an ID card, don’t let that person in and please call National Grid or your local law enforcement.

Our Community Assistance vans are in the area with customer service representatives and a 24-hour Information Center is open at Gurney’s Newport Resort. Threefood trucks will be providing complimentary meals from 5-8PM Thursday night and 11AM-8PM on Friday and Saturday at:

  • Newport Police Station (FanTex-Mexical Tacos Food Truck)
  • 35 Dexter Street (Poppy’s Waffles Food Truck)
  • Kings Park, Wellington Ave (Poppy’s Waffles Food Truck)

Locations may change over the weekend.

Thursday, January 24th
10:00AM

The gas system in Middletown was brought back to full pressure Tuesday night and crews have been working day and night on relights—the final step of the restoration process—since. As of this morning, 297 of 340 affected homes have been relit.

We have shut off more than 6,200 of the 6,400 meters in Newport, bringing  the first phase of restoration close to completion in the heavily impacted town.

In order to provide information related to the gas incident and to complete the relight process, National Grid personnel will be going to door-to-door. As a reminder, every National Grid employee carries a photo ID card, and any contractor doing work for the company is also required to carry ID. If someone requesting entry into your home or place of business does not show an ID card, don’t let that person in and please call National Grid or your local law enforcement.

Our Community Assistance vans are in the area with customer service representatives and a 24-hour Information Center is open at Gurney’s Newport Resort.

Wednesday, January 23rd
4:00PM

We made significant progress last night and today to bring the gas system in Middletown back to full pressure and begin the final step of the restoration process—relights. As of this morning, 238 of 340 affected homes have been relit.

We have shut off more than 6,000 of the 6,400 meters in Newport, bringing  the first phase of restoration close to completion in the heavily impacted town.

In order to provide information related to the gas incident and to complete the relight process, National Grid personnel will be going to door-to-door. As a reminder, every National Grid employee carries a photo ID card, and any contractor doing work for the company is also required to carry ID. If someone requesting entry into your home or place of business does not show an ID card, don’t let that person in and please call National Grid or your local law enforcement.

Our Community Assistance Vans are in the area with customer service representatives and our 24-hour Information Center at Gurney’s Newport Resort is providing space heaters with a limit of 2 per-household today .

National Grid provided the following up date at 10:30 pm on Tuesday, January 22nd;

Gas Service Restoration Update

National Grid Tuesday night announced it has begun the process of re-pressurization to the approximately 340 Middletown customers impacted by the gas supply disruption on Aquidneck Island. National Grid has deployed over 400 technicians on round-the-clock shifts to assist in the methodical door-to-door three phase process of shutting off meters for the remaining 6,400 customers impacted in the City of Newport, a necessary first step towards a safe, full restoration.

More than 2,700 of the 6,400 meters in Newport that need to be shut off before the next phase of restoration were turned off Tuesday.

Approximately 1,000 field and support personnel are on the ground in both communities assisting in the multiple-day restoration effort. We understand how difficult it is for our customers to be without natural gas. Rest assured the area is safe and we are working around the clock so life in our communities can return to normal as quickly and safely as possible.

National Grid has deployed its Community Assistance Vans to the area to help provide locations where customers can speak with customer service representatives.   The Company has also opened a 24-hour Customer Information Center at Gurney’s Newport Resort, 1 Goat Island, Newport.

As always, if you smell gas in the house or suspect a leak in your home, you should leave immediately and call us at 1-800-640-1595 or 911.

Restoring service will include the following steps:

  • Shutting off gas service: For those that have lost service or need to have their service shut off, technicians will visit to ensure the meter is turned off.
  • Restoring gas service and relighting appliances: Once we know the system has fully stabilized, technicians will return to each of those homes to relight gas appliances.
  • If you are not at home when we arrive to turn on your service, a door hanger will be left with instructions for contacting us to complete this step.
  • Please do not attempt to turn off your own gas. Our technicians will be visiting your residence or business to secure the meter.


As a reminder, every National Grid employee and our contractors carries a photo ID card. If someone requesting entry into your home or place of business does not show an ID card, don’t let that person in and please call National Grid or your local law enforcement.

Warming Centers

Warming centers are open at the following locations:

  • The Gaudet Middle School in Middletown
  • Donovan House – Newport
  • URI Student Center – Kingston, RI

Emergency Lodging

For those customers desiring lodging, we will reimburse the cost of the room for your stay.  Please keep receipts and contact our claims department at 781-907-3930 to be reimbursed. 

  • Customers that are having difficulty in securing lodging are encouraged to speak with one of our community liaisons at Gurney’s Newport Resort or any of the open warming centers.


National Grid will cover the following costs on a reimbursement basis, as long as they are directly related to this gas event:

  • Reasonable lodging accommodation while gas service is unavailable
  • Reasonable meals while gas service is unavailable 
    Up to $250 per household for temporary heaters (i.e. space heaters, etc.)


A list of hotels in the area can be found here or by visiting ngrid.com/aquidneck.

Additional Claim Information

Claims can be submitted in one of a few different ways:

  • Download our claim form at ngrid.com/aquidneck
  • Call and leave info (name, service address, mailing address if different, account #, return phone #) on 781-907-3930; a claim form will be mailed to you
  • Email and request a claim form on claimsdept@nationalgrid.com
  • In person at Newport Customer Information Center tomorrow (Wed 1/23/19) at Gurney’s Resort, 1 Goat Island, Newport, RI, and we’ll be passing out claim forms and helping customers to submit claims


For the most up-to-date information on this event, please visit ngrid.com/aquidneck. 

Thank you for your patience as we work to restore service. 

Sincerely, 
National Grid 

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